The Military Is Facing A Fitness Crisis

Trending News: The Army Is Having Trouble Getting Recruits Fit Enough To Serve

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Weight, weight... don't tell me I can't join!

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You know all about North Korea and ISIS, but the U.S. military is facing a dangerous enemy within its borders: a lack of fitness.

A recent study conducted by The Heritage Foundation found that "71 percent of young Americans between 17 and 24 are ineligible to serve in the United States military." Of that number, nearly a third are too overweight to enlist.

Daniel Bornstein, the lead author of a recent report by The Citadel, told The Fayetteville Observer the Army has been working on this problem for years, but the country needs to take some responsibility as well.

"We've been telling people for 20 years that they should get more physical activity to improve health," Bornstein said. "Although it is the military's problem, it is not a problem they can solve. It really is society's problem to solve."

The issue of young people being ineligible isn't exactly a new one. In World War II, half of American's young people weren't eligible, USA Today reports. But today's fitness issue is a little different. Even if recruits get accepted, they end up getting injured during training. This is especially a problem among recruits from the 10 Southern states, according to The Citadel study.

The way it currently works is soldiers go through an Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), which includes push-ups, sit-ups, and a two-mile run. Unfortunately, during the test — usually administered around every six months —- soldiers end up over-exerting themselves, likely because they haven't built up healthy fitness habits throughout their lives.

A proposed new test called the Soldier Readiness Test would have the soldiers wear all their gear and do a 225-pound tire flip, an agility test, a 240-pound dummy drag, a sandbag toss over a 7-foot barrier, a sandbag stack and a one-and-a-half mile run. Aroo! (No tire around? Try this bodyweight workout).

But will a more difficult, and particular test, help deal with the fitness crisis? Unfit soldiers will still be at risk of injury.

On the other hand, how much should these tests even matter?Men's Health interviewed an Army vet who said being a soldier isn't really about acing a test — it's about mental toughness.

"Having incredibly fit soldiers simply isn't that important, on a certain level," said Adrian Bonenberger, a former airborne Ranger-qualified infantry officer from 2005 to 2012. "In the infantry, you just need soldiers who can walk carrying lots of weight over long distances, and then shoot a rifle or machine-gun when they get to wherever they're going."

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Should the Army lower its fitness standards to get more able recruits?